Always make certain to read death certificates carefully

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After 28 years as a genealogist, I’m still amazed at how much gets by me.

What’s the first thing you do once you obtain a vital record – a certified copy of a birth, marriage or death certificate?

YOU READ IT.

The whole thing.

I started out on the right path, mind you. When it came time to get some very recent death certificates for probate purposes, etc., I ordered extras for family members who might want to have one. I’ve found that if you order several certificates at the time of death, it’s much cheaper than getting them one at a time as you go along.

I picked up the certificates and of course looked at them, focusing on what would be new information to me – which doctor had signed the certificate, what he listed as cause of death, etc. I just skimmed the rest – family information I knew by heart.

I promptly – a little too promptly, it turned out – began distributing certificates for probate, etc.

Then I read the certificate carefully and caught a spelling error on the first name of the mother of the deceased – just a couple of letters, but enough to make it into another name.

Now, that incorrect name won’t interfere with probate or bank matters or any of that. But the record is wrong, so of course it’s only right that I make every effort to correct it.

I was sure I knew what to do first. I headed for the municipal office that had issued the certificate, feeling certain I could just show them some documentation and walk out with correct death certificates.

I was wrong.

What I needed to do was contact the funeral home, which then would send in the corrected information to the state. It could be a few weeks before the new certificates arrive. That is a nuisance, considering the paperwork I’m trying to get done now.

Mistakes happen. Many are the times I’ve seen incorrect information provided by a relative who certainly knew the right names and dates, but may have mixed something up in the confusion that can happen when a loved one has died.

My mistake was in not stopping to read the certificates completely the minute I got them.

My aunt did several things that were helpful to her family after she had died. She had picked out her burial spot, met with the funeral director and made her own arrangements, and even prepaid the estimate for those arrangements.

As when my dad had died, I wrote the obituary. Hey, writing is what I do, right?

Both times, I had my sister proofread the obituary – and both times she found something that needed correcting. It’s true that everybody needs editing.

It would be ideal if each of us would write our own obituary and have someone proofread it. Or, get the help of a family member or friend in writing one. I have helped relatives and friends do this for themselves or for their loved ones who were near the end of their lives, and they were glad to have the opportunity to make sure the obits reflected what they wanted.

Job Billington is likely a descendant of John Billington, a passenger of the Mayflower in 1620.

But that’s not what Job is being honored for this month. Beverly (Small) Nickerson of Oceanside, Calif., has arranged a grave marking for her ancestor, who fought in the War of 1812. Nickerson is a member of the United States Daughters of 1812, which has as one of its goals the marking of such graves.

The event will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, at Central Cemetery in Dedham.

Billington was born in 1770 in Massachusetts and was a member of the Massachusetts Militia. He served in Capt. Jacob Haskell’s Company of Infantry, 4th Regiment, at Wiscasset, Maine, in September 1814. He later moved to Wayne, then to Dedham.

Job’s wife was Hannah Burrell, also a Mayflower descendant, the daughter of Abraham Burrell and Hannah (Cushing). All their children were born in Albion.

Job and Hannah’s son, Asa Billington, and wife Eunice (Ward), also are buried at Central Cemetery. Billington, Ward and Burrell descendants are issued a special invitation, as are members of historical societies.

Grave markings are very nice events. I thoroughly enjoyed the marking by the Maine Daughters of the American Revolution of the Penobscot grave of William Hutchings, Revolutionary War veteran.

The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) units mark Civil War graves.

Marking often involves putting an emblem on a monument, or placing a flag stand signifying which war the veteran served in.

More next week on Nickerson’s search for information.

The Aroostook County Genealogical Society will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, at the Lions Building, 111 High St., Caribou. The program will be “Tools of the Trade of Doing Genealogical Research.”

Send genealogy queries to Family Ties, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402; or send e-mail, familyti@bangordailynews.net.